The week went by quickly and soon it was Saturday. Saturdays were always my favorite. It was one of the days I didn't have to go into work. The mall was always especially crazy on Saturdays because the schools were out for the weekend so all the teens found the mall as a place to hang out. We had extra help at Macy's today and I was assured by Lucy and Rex and countless other employees that I didn't have to be there.
"Regina and I would love to come back to spend Christmas with you, Lette," [A/N: Lette is pronounced Let. Simply a nickname] my dad said into the phone.
"No, really dad, it's okay," I said as I held the phone between my shoulder and my ear and poured some cat food into the bowl. "Marcy already said I could come over to her place for Christmas dinner. Besides, I'll barely be home while you were here. The store is going to be so busy."
"Honey, why don't you just sell the store? Your mother's name is no longer on it and I certainly don't want it," he sighed. "You need to go out and experience life with other people. Be more social." I rolled my eyes. When I was growing up that was all I ever heard from my parents -- "Go out and be more social," or, "No one gets anywhere by spending all their time locked up in a room" well, in my case, a store.
"Dad, that store is all I have," I muttered. "There aren't any teaching jobs available right now. Everyone that graduated with my degree wants to work at the elementary school. I'm not interested in teaching middle or high school levels. That's not where my degree's at," I explained.
"Then move away from New Jersey and New York City altogether! Nothing's keeping you there, Lette," my dad sighed. Part of me wanted to be angry with him for saying that. How could he possibly know what my life was like or what was keeping me here?
"Dad, I have friends," I muttered and plopped down on the couch, finally able to hold the phone with my hand instead of on my shoulder. There was a beep on the line informing me that there was someone else calling me. "Hey, someone's calling me on the other line. Can I call you back?" I asked him. He agreed that we would talk another time and we hung up. "Hello?" I said as I switched over lines.
"Hi, uh, is this Collette Cooper?" A deep voice asked. I frowned and tried to place my finger on the face behind the caller.
"Yes, who's speaking?" I creased my brow and tried to figure out who the man was on the other line.
"Oh, sorry," he sounded embarrassed for not introducing himself earlier. "It's Nick Carter, the brother of the kid that tried to steal from your store?" He reminded me. I had to work hard at holding back my laughter. I would have known exactly who he was with or without his added statement about the attempted robbery.
"Oh, hi, Nick," I couldn't help the smile that formed over my lips. I tucked my legs underneath of me on the couch to get more comfortable. "What's up?" I asked, curious as to how he got my phone call.
"Well, I called the store but I wanted to tell you that my dad found out about what had happened with Aaron and pretty much freaked out. So he called here this morning and sent a plane ticket for Aaron to fly back to Tampa and stay with him for a while," Nick sighed. "I told him all about the community service and he definitely wants him to finish that, as well. He just wants to dish out his own punishment."
"I understand," I said. I knew this would have never worked out. Aaron Carter was a celebrity. Celebrity's don't do community service. Plain and simple.
"So he'll be gone for a few weeks. But once he gets back, it's back to the community service," Nick said as if he was standing firm on this one. I cracked another smile.
"Okay, Nick," I said. "It's really okay. Please don't worry about it."
"Alright," Nick said. There was an awkward silence. I was about to say thank you for calling and end the conversation when I heard him clear his throat a little. "Uh, Collette?" He asked.
"Yeah?" I muttered as my tabby kitten, Ariel, jumped up onto the couch and purred her way over to me.
"Uh, I was wondering...I don't really know many people in the area but I'm going to be spending a lot of time here, and I've kind of gotten to know you," he rambled on. "So I was wondering if you would want to go to dinner sometime? Or something?" He sounded so unsure and I wasn't sure to smile because it sounded as if he was asking me out on a date, or not take it so seriously.
"Yeah, I'd love to," I muttered simply. I wasn't really sure what else to say in response to that.
"Great," I could sense the smile on Nick's lips. "How's tomorrow night?"
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for the reviews from yesterday! Keep them coming!
